The Nellikutha reserve forest in Kerala's Nilambur forest range is ideal terrain for timber smugglers. Armed with guns, swords and acid bulbs they have been plundering the teak forest with impunity and little resistance from the inadequately armed forest guards.

The problem is not a new one, it has only become more dangerous. M.M. Sahib the forester in charge has been writing for the past two years to the Kerala Forest Department seeking their help, but time and again his requests have been ignored.

Last month, Sahib and his team of four forest guards went on a three-day lightning strike demanding among other things, armed protection from the smugglers. Said E.R. Mohandas, the Mallapuram district president of the Kerala Forest Protection Staff Association (KFPSA): "If the Kerala Government is not interested in protecting teak wood worth crores why should we risk our lives against this murderous gang with political protection."

Armed with only lathis, the forest guards have not been given even a motor cycle to patrol the 2,000 acre grade teak forest. Nor have they been provided with a wireless set to communicate with the Nilambur forest office 20 km away.

Completely isolated, even the nearest police station is 7 km away in Vazhikadavu. "We were powerless to stop the timber smugglers exploitation," said Sahib helplessly. What seems more serious is that over the last six months three forest guards including Sahib have been seriously injured in clashes with the smugglers. To focus attention on their plight, the KFPSA decided in the last week of May to take action.

The foresters strike came as quite a blow to the state's afforestation programme. To save face, the Government immediately ordered police protection for the foresters. "The social forestry schemes of planting saplings with such fanfare shows the hypocrisy of a government that cannot protect its own forests," a Friends of Trees Association member lamented.

Operating for so many years, the smugglers know when to strike and how to carry out their job. Under cover of darkness, about 50 armed men cross the Punnapuzha river, which borders the Nellikutha forest, in country made boats.

Working with ropes and axes they are able to fell a tree in about 30 minutes. The logs are then transported down the river to the nearest saw mill in Vazhikadavu panchayat or sometimes taken to Kallai, about 90 km away in Calicut which is the country's biggest timber market.

Confiscated teak logs and vehicles: Unchecked exploitation

The three saw mills situated almost on the boundary of the reserve forest are operating in contravention of a rule which says that no mill can operate within 8 km of a reserve. The Forest Department blames the Industries Department which issues licences for the lapse.

Shrugging off their responsibility, K.P. Nooruddin the state forest minister said: "Obviously the Industries Department has not bothered to ask for our clearance."

Members of the KFPSA believe that the timber smugglers have become so daring because of the enormous political patronage they enjoy. The gang leader is a senior official of the Vazhikadavu panchayat and an active member of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). He is also a close associate of Seethi Haji the IUML MLA and timber tycoon. Foresters complain that MLA's stand guarantee for smugglers who have been arrested thus allowing them to remain outside the purview of the law.

Considering the profits - a log of one cubic metre of grade teak can fetch Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 in Kallai - the extent of exploitation of the forests is not surprising. "Processing smuggled timber from forest reserves and making furniture out of them is the biggest cottage industry around the hilly and forested areas of Nilambur," says C.K. Kunjappan, a forest official attached to the Nilambur forest range.

The timber smuggled from Nellikutha processed in saw mills which even work at night, are sold to furniture markets between Nilambur and Gudalur in Tamil Nadu. Occasionally lorry loads of timber transported without passes are confiscated by the forest department near Vazhikadavu, the only check post before the border.

Last month when a similar raid took place, hostile locals, including women and children, surrounded the forest officials who were forced to leave. This attitude of the people to foresters is not surprising seeing that the entire economy of the area depends on smuggling. For, while the Government pays Rs 35 to a labourer for carrying logs, smugglers are willing to pay Rs 100.

Sahib and many other members of the KFPSA feel that Kerala's reserve forests should be taken over by the Central Government. They feel that the interests of the forests are being sacrificed to the survival of coalition governments in the state. Attempting to deny the charge, Nooruddin in defence said: "We have given adequate police protection to the foresters and very shortly more foresters would be sent there along with jeeps and wireless sets."

The smugglers meanwhile are getting more brazen in their attacks. In the last week of May they raided the Government dumping depot to reclaim the logs and trucks that were confiscated earlier.

It is apparent that unless the Government senses the seriousness of the situation and acts immediately, the battle against the smugglers is going to be a long and costly affair. As Sahib said thoughtfully: "I want to finish off these smugglers but the Kerala Government should support me otherwise there will be no forest left."

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